So many Direct Box's and only one Amp....

I have a Ashdown ABM500 head. I want to get a direct box just in case the amp should crap out. It has a built in direct inject. I have heard many say amp DI's are not very good and if the amp dies than I am out of luck, probably. I guess it depends where it stops working in the head, no? Does anybody have any input on the Ashdown DI's?

There are so many DI's on the market that do so many things. I just want a reliable and inexpensive DI with out extra feature's. If it had extra feature's fine.

What is the story on the very inexpensive brands seen on E Bay..etc.. like Art and Beringer for example. Do they do the job as a reliable "emergency" way to get sound to the PA?

My feeling is to save a bit and get a Countryman 85 perhaps?

Thanks for anybody's time. I searched first and came up with mostly older posts. I really am intersted in how people feel about a $19.99 DI with extra's.

Well, I have a red Behringer DI, that i bought for $45. It's a good DI for getting the job done. I've done some simpler recording and a couple of gigs with it so far, (i've only had it for a few weeks), but I haven't experienced any trouble with it, no hum or noise, or any big coloration of the sound. It has a 4x12 speaker simulator, that i haven't really tried except through a pair of headphones, and i didn't really notice any big difference, except maybe a little compression. Anyway, i'd recommend the Behringer, or any other fairly cheap DI, especially if you only intend to use it as a backup if your amp fails. I wouldn't buy a very cheap DI with eq's and stuff, I don't really expect them to be good, but if you just want something that changes your impedance, not altering or enhancing your sound, I see no reason not to buy inexpensive.

The ART Tube MP is a handy little gadget to have around. I take mine to every gig, just in case. I bought mine for recording, but there are other uses as well (impedance matching, phantom power if needed, direct box, balanced and unbalanced outputs that can be used at the same time). I have played a few gigs without an amp using one, bass sounds good through it. It's quiet. I paid $99 for mine, but I have seen them for $79.

Petebass, I only really worry if the whole amp went down. I carry some spare fuses and have a fairly good electronics backround in terms of fixing things althought I'd have no time to pull the amp apart during a gig. The only thing I have heard about the Ashdown is a problem with hum. Aparently one needs to isolate pins 2 and 3 at the amp, to avoid a ground loop, which is done on mine. There was thread about that someplace a long time ago. My amp is 3 years old and going strong. I have heard, as I said, many people say Amp manufactors don't put very "good" DI's on there amps; that they are just there for show. This may, or may not be true, of course. I would think a "better" amp would come with a decent direct inject circut.
Again thanks people, Danny

My advice is for an "emergency" DI, get a passive box. No battery means one less thing to go wrong.

If it's strictly for emergencies, the Whirlwind IMP2 is only about $35 new, less used and sounds OK though not world class. Heck, most PAs won't reproduce the superior sound of a better sounding box like the Radial.

Of course, if you have the dough, get a Radial...it's probably the best passive DI out there right now.